Grand Convergence: Aftermath
by MistressofSeven77
Summary: Some time has passed since an infamous event known as "The Grand Convergence" has passed. The heroes of the merged universe are learning to work with one another. But everyone knows that such a big event has left a big mess in the wake of its aftermath. New heroes are arriving on the scene, only adding to the chaos in this new world. What will happen now? No one knows for sure...
1. Author's Note

**Author's Note: I felt the need to put this here, since things might get confusing otherwise. The universe of this fic is massive hybrid universe between Young Justice, Green Lantern: The Animated Series, X-Men: Evolution, The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, Avengers Assemble, The Avengers, and Guardians of the Galaxy. Most DC-themed characters will be per the Young Justice continuity, except for the Green Lantern characters that are in the Green Lantern: The Animated Series-those characters will be from the latter universe. The X-Men characters will be from the Evolution universe. Most of the Avengers cast will be from the movie universe, except for those not found in the movie universe-they will be their cartoon selves. The Guardians of the Galaxy will be their movie selves.**

**Any OCs associated with canon characters will be set in their respective canon characters' universe theme. It is set after pretty much everything has happened in the respective universes, but it ignores the events of anything after The Avengers movie for the movie universe. I may eventually write something to explain how these universes came together, but it would be something small. To summarize, there was a massive accident that involved The Infinity Stones, and the damage was irreversible. **

**There will be pairings, but all of them will be heterosexual. I do not ship yaoi/yuri pairings. There may also be references to other things, such as Final Fantasy XIII. Please respect my work, as this means a lot to me. Thank you for reading this long Author's Note. Enjoy the fic!**

**MistressofSeven77**


	2. Chapter 1: Awaken The Saber

Chapter 1: Awaken The Saber

Fury paced impatiently around in the common area of the S.H.I.E.L.D. base. All things considered, by now, even Clint and Natasha were getting concerned. He seemed unusually… unsettled and impatient, even for Fury. It was starting to worry the pair.

"What's his deal?" Clint whispered to Natasha.

"How should I know?" She whispered back.

"Duh! You're the ex-Russian spy chick! It's your _job_ to know stuff!"

"Well, I'm not interested in pissing off my boss!"

It was then that they heard rolling.

"About fucking time you got that crystal bitch in here!" Fury swore.

Natasha and Clint turned their heads… and just stared.

Rolling in on a cart was a crystal figure of a woman… that seemed to be glowing faintly. She was standing as if she was reaching towards something (or someone), and the crystal was unlike anything that either of them had seen before. It was flowing around her body in a variety of ways that were beautiful. The crystal did not seem to be carved out of anything. It flowed like water. It was light blue… and downright _hypnotizing._

"Uhhhh…" Clint droned, at a loss for words.

"Sir… Just _what_ in God's name _is that thing_, and what is it doing here?" Natasha asked, able to still somewhat think.

"This 'thing', as you called her, Agent Romanoff, is a bit of a mystery. However, our nerds are saying that something interesting is gonna happen to it. I wanted some of my finest Agents on hand just in case that 'something interesting' is something bad."

Fury barely finished his sentence before the crystal suddenly flashed brilliantly, forcing everyone to shield their eyes.

"Who the hell are you people?! What in Etro's name do you want from me?!"

When the light cleared, everyone stared at a female figure. A female figure that was clearly _alive_.

And armed.

With swords.

And very, very, confused.

She appeared to be human, but every S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent knew to be careful (Asgardians resembled humans, but they were clearly oh-so-not-human, for example), and kept their hands close to their weapons. The tension in the air was thick. A snarl was on her face.

"Damn you…" She muttered.

In a flash, she unsheathed her swords from her back. Electricity began arcing across the thin blades, sparking violently. The anger in the air was thick.

"DAMN YOU SANCTUM BASTARDS! ALL THE WAY TO HELL!" She screamed, swinging both swords downwards with tremendous force. The lightning followed the arc of the swing, concentrating as it got closer to the ground. The moment the blades made contact with the floor, the lightning tore through the building, causing a massive explosion that started a raging fire. She climbed to the top of the ruined structure.

"I WON'T BE SOME PAWN IN YOUR DAMN CHESS GAME, DYSLEY! NOT NOW… NOT EVER!" She bellowed as loud as she could, swords bared. However, she soon realized that she may have done more harm than good.

She leapt down from her flaming perch, since the flames were close to burning her. She did a graceful roll, but, looking around, she began to question what she'd done. She couldn't see any of her friends anywhere. She didn't recognize her surroundings whatsoever. She thought that she would awaken on a grassy plain, not in the middle of a desert! And where was the crystallized Cocoon? It should be in the middle of the sky, supported by a crystal pillar!

Then, the realization hit her like a brick wall.

"Oh… Oh, Etro's mercy… W-What have I done?!" She asked, her eyes watering.

_Please, let me be wrong! Let me be wrong!_ She thought as she sent a Waterga at the flaming structure, putting the fire out in an instant. All she saw was a heap of twisted, burnt metal.

"No blood… at least not yet…"

She began tearing at the scraps she'd made. She could never forgive herself if she was on some new world, and, already, she'd committed mass murder. All because of a blind rage against some guy who she now realized was _dead,_ and had been _dead_ for Etro-knows-how-long. She didn't see corpses or blood, but she couldn't get very far into the pile. She slammed an angry, tear-driven fist into the metal.

"I'm so sorry…"

She slid to her knees.

"Light… Hope… Snow… Old Man… Oh, God…"

She began to break down entirely.

"Vanille... Fang... I'm so sorry!"

_"Hey! A little help here!" _

Her breath hitched.

_"Who are you yelling to, Clint?! No one is going to search for any survivors after what that lightning chick did to this place!"_

Her eyes widened.

_There are survivors! _

_"Damnit, Tasha! I'm trying to be optimistic here! We're alive! Stop being so pessimistic!" _

"Hang on! I'll get you outta there!" She yelled. She tore up the pile of rubble, raised her right sword to the sky, calling forth a bolt of lightning, and slashed through the thick metal. She forced her swords in the gash she'd made, and struggled to force it to open wider. She then jammed one sword into a side of the gash, sheathed the other in one of the two sheaths attached to her back, and offered her free hand to Black Widow and Hawkeye.

"What the hell?! First, you're trying to kill us, then you want to _help_ us?! Whose side are you on, lady?!" Hawkeye demanded.

"Look, I'm sorry I attacked you! It was a misunderstanding! I'll explain it all later! Come on, both of you, take my hand!" She said in a rush. Hawkeye let out a low grumble.

"I guess we've got no choice, Clint. If we're going to get out of here alive, we're going to have to trust her. We're going to have to take her hand." Black Widow added, relenting. Hawkeye saw the metal beginning to cave. He bit his lip. He decided that it was better to take his chances with the sword-wielding stranger than to stay put and become something akin to human Swiss Cheese.

He nodded, and let Black Widow pull him close (not like he had any problems with feeling her slim, toned, and downright hypnotizing body against his) to her. The Russian-born woman grabbed a tight hold of the stranger's hand. In an instant, the duo of assassins were flung out of the metal death trap with inhuman force. The woman used her sword as a support post, flipping herself upwards moments before ripping the sword out of the side of the metal. She backflipped just in time for the pile to cave in, causing a massive explosion. She landed safely next to the archer/weapons master duo.

"Well, I'm sure as hell glad that we got outta that mess in time." Hawkeye said, relieved. The duo's savior watched the burning rubble with an expression of regret on her face. She sheathed her other sword in the remaining sheath on her back. The two sheathed weapons formed an x-shape across her back. The shape was mirror on her front with the sheaths' respective straps that crossed over the mystery figure's chest. She folded her arms over her chest, closing her eyes.

"Damnit… Again… I…" She muttered, a heavy sigh following. Black Widow walked over to her, and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"No one was killed. We managed to evacuate everyone."

The swordswoman breathed a sigh of relief.

"Good… at least I didn't kill anyone. I can feel better about that."

"That's certainly true… but Clint and I have a lot of questions for you."

The powerful warrior turned around.

"Okay… Like what?"

"Well, let's start with the basics. What's your name?"

"Sabre. Sabre Kinatara."


	3. Chapter 2: Saber and Skull

Chapter 2: Saber and Skull

Sabre paced around impatiently. Although she'd convinced S.H.I.E.L.D. that she wasn't an enemy due to the fact that she'd singlehandedly saved two of their best agents' lives… well, there were still problems. It was all summarized in paperwork.

Sabre was never good at dealing with authorities, but S.H.I.E.L.D. was willing to let her operate as a more freelance heroine, provided she "checked in" with an Agent of her choosing. She had chosen the alias "Lady Saber", and had already made her name known to quite a few people. Her sword style wasn't too strange-it was a fast-paced dual-wield style that relied more on getting lots of successive hits in than pouring a lot of strength into each individual strike. She was nimble and lithe in her movement, able to easily dodge anything thrown her way and adapt to her environment quickly. It was some… other aspects of her being that they didn't understand and/or like.

Her "L'Cie Magic". The strange form of magic she used… it was something else. Sometimes, she would use it to cripple her opponents in various ways. Other times, she would use it to enhance her abilities. Sometimes, she would use it for almost pure defense. But then, she would slash and hack at her opponent, using very little magic at all. A spin, and she would immediately throw all sorts of offensive magic at the opponent in question. If she was injured, she'd be able to heal herself to a degree.

Then… there was her "Eidolon Summon" ability. Just by calling out the name "Solstice", she would pull out a crystal. She would then toss it In the air, strike it simultaneously with both swords, and it would explode. This caused a series of strange glyphs to appear, and not long after, a mechanical creature would appear to do her bidding. At times, it operated on its own accord, focusing on defeating the enemy while protecting her. Other times, it transformed into a mount, and they worked together. She switched between modes at will.

The creature was something in and of itself. When operating by itself, it was a _massive_ female, mechanical, humanoid warrior woman, clad in eclipse-themed valkyrie-like armor. It had no weapons, and metallic yet feathery wings. It would switch between physical attack patterns and brutally blasting opponents with magic. When it was ordered into the "Gestalt Mode", it transformed into an equally-large alicorn, a horn coming out where the head guard was. Sabre would mount on its back, and the fighting style would shift entirely.

S.H.I.E.L.D couldn't make proper sense of the strange abilities, and, well, Sabre was no good at explaining them. She really didn't know _how _they worked. She only knew how to _use _them. It was a head-shaking matter. It had been settled amongst the Agents that they would wait until Sabre's "missions" caught the attention of Asgard, and when whatever Asgardian was sent to investigate, they'd ask questions then. After all, it seemed like those god-like aliens knew _everything. _Sabre's abilities were certainly no exception... at least, that's what they hoped.

Sabre currently resided in a hollowed-out section of the Cascade Mountains. She enjoyed the changing seasons and natural environment of the briskly cold mountain range. It reminded her of her time on Gran Pulse. She loved hearing the wind howl during snowstorms. When it thundered, she would go running, the thunder like a starting pistol for her.

But the conditions in the range were calm right now. She was currently relaxing, all amenities in her base provided as part of her deal with S.H.I.E.L.D. (it made her wonder just how much money the espionage organization _really_ had) when the alarms went off. She sighed, walked over to the briefing room, and sat down.

"Hit me with your best shot, Skylark." Sabre said, plopping down in the chair.

The face on the holographic screen was immediately frustrated. She whined in frustration.

"_For the love of God, Sabre, my name is SKYE! SKYE!"_

"Oh, get your panties outta that wad in your ass and tell me what's going on." Sabre said nonchalantly, waving her hand off to the side. Skye slammed her fists into the keyboard.

"_I don't get why Coulson puts up with you! You're such a… a…"_

"Bitch? Yea, not the first time I've heard it, and not the last. Just tell me what's going on so I can get it overwith."

Skye hung her head, and sighed.

"_Right… Well, cameras caught an old enemy in Germany."_

"You guys got a lot of enemies."

"_It's not just any enemy. It's Red Skull."_

Lady Saber hissed.

"Where is that son-of-a-bitch?!" She demanded.

"_He's… uhh… He's in Berlin, preaching to a crowd…"_ Skye said nervously. Sabre checked her swords, re-sheathed them, and stormed off. She immediately summoned the mechanical warrior Solstice, ordered her into Gestalt Mode, and rode her off to Berlin.

_Get ready for the asskicking of a lifetime, Skull, because I'm not gonna hold back on you, bastard! _

With eyes narrowed, Lady Saber rode through the skies at maximum speed. She arrived on the scene, ordering Solstice to tear through the crimson fascist's armies with a powerful black laser beam shot from the horn mounted upon its forehead. It whinnied when a rocket tried to hit it, flying away from it. Sabre answered by throwing a Thunder from her sword.

"Let's do this, Solstice!"

Solstice let out another whinny, and continued her Gestalt Mode assault, under the direction of Sabre. Black lasers tore a path. Bombs dropped from the sky, generated by Solstice, causing silver-colored magic energy explosions everywhere they landed. She charged through on the Eidolon, a silver barrier covering her. Solstice flapped her wings, sending feather-shaped silver blades that exploded upon contact with anything at the enemy.

"Face the wrath of the eclipse!"

The two rode up to the sky, causing it to becoming a pitch-black backdrop for a perfect eclipse. She raised her twin swords to the sky, calling forth silver lightning. She leapt off of Solstice, and swung them downwards, releasing a massive burst of silver energy just as Solstice shot forth a powerful black beam from her horn. The attacks combined, devastating the area and isolating Red Skull. He looked up, but kept his cool.

"So, you are the latest hero sent against me?" He asked sarcastically. Lady Saber's anger grew.

"Pathetic. You are small. Weak-GAHH!"

In that instant, Lady Saber had appeared behind him, and stabbed him.

"Shut the fuck up, you fucking bastard!" She cursed. He turned around, eyes wide.

"When… did you…" He asked, gagging, choking, sputtering, and breathless.

"I'll admit that no one is ever a perfect saint. But people like you are pure evil. I made a promise, and if there's one thing that's true about me, I keep my promises. This is the end of the line for you, bastard."

"So… you kill me… because of a promise… How… pathetic…"

He cried out in agony as she burned him alive by driving a _Firaga_ into him on her blade. A fiery burst lit up the area. All that remained of him was a pile of ashes. She wiped off her blade, and sheathed both.

"A monster like you would _never_ understand." She said coldly, walking away. She mounted Solstice, and left the area.


	4. Chapter 3: Together, As One

Chapter 3: Together, As One

Night had fallen on Berlin as it was being repaired. Lady Saber's ruthless assault had damaged the city severely, and when the workers found the remnants of Red Skull's body… it was the stuff of nightmares. It was a miracle no one else had been killed during the assault. Lady Saber struck fear into the hearts of many a villain after that incident.

Of course, such a destructive attack earned her a thorough scolding from S.H.I.E.L.D., but in all honesty, there wasn't much they could do to really punish her. She was strong, and skilled with her powers. It wasn't until the Widow herself told a summary of her past that the swordswoman _finally_ listened to anything the Agents had to say. The two heroes bore their souls to each other, and it was settled that the ex-Russian spy would almost always be her "check-in", almost always being referred to as "Scarlet" or "Red" by the L'Cie.

The work continued, even through the rise of the dark and jewelled sky. Unknown to any of the Agents out in the field overseeing the repairs or to any of the repair workers, a figure was watching. The figure was surveying the area, using the night to hide her presence.

"Incredible…"

"_Yes, truly. The humans have been working day and night to repair the damage wrought by the furious L'Cie's assault."_

The figure raised an eyebrow.

"Ummm…"

"_Yes, Alex?" _

"Partner, I know you know a lot… but what's a L'Cie?"

"_Hmmm… How to explain it to you… Do you remember the stories I told you of the War of Transgression?" _

"The one that was between two neighboring worlds? The one with robot gods and all of that? How could I _forget?_ It was one of the most radical stories you've ever told me!"

"_Yes, indeed, it is a dark tale. But the Fal'Cie did not truly do much on the front lines in the war." _

"But you said that it was a devastating war…"

"_They tricked and tried humans, and used them as soldiers, assigning them tasks." _

"That's…"

"_They did not care for humanity. For all intents and purposes, humans were nothing more than tools in their eyes. If a human defeated a Fal'Cie, it brought them before the god it was subjugated to. The god would brand them a L'Cie."_

"Brand them? You mean basically make them targets for their enemies!"

"_If the brand could be sighted. At the time of the War of Transgression, the Fal'Cie's lies led many humans to actually volunteer for such savagery." _

"That's even more disgusting…"

"_It is. After the war ended, the world of Gran Pulse was left devoid of human life, and the citizens of Cocoon were constantly pampered, taught to believe that a Pulse L'Cie was another term for a monster in human disguise. It is obvious to me that those times are passed, but what disturbs me is that there is a L'Cie on this fragile planet." _

Alex chuckled.

"I remember a time when you couldn't have cared less."

"_And I remember a time when you had no qualms about ending lives." _

"But that's the past."

"_And we are in the present." _

Alex stood up.

"Come on, let's get the hell outta here before we're spotted."

"_Agreed, Alex." _

Alex turned, and with a flourish of red-and-black, she disappeared from her perch in Berlin. She reappeared in the heart of the New Orleans bayou, her base of operations and home. Amongst the wandering sawgrass and hanging mangroves, there was a small patch that, to most, would just seem like another section of the swampland.

Alex smiled as she raised her hand. She closed her eyes for a moment, before opening them. The moment she opened them, they had turned from complete heterochromia to pure, glowing red. Her hand became surrounded by an unholy red glow, matching her eyes. A dark wind surged from the ground, blowing up the flap of hair concealing her right eye.

**"Barrier, dispel! Fling open, gates! Unveil yourself to your master, home of the Master of Reality, Temple Aether!"**

As both Alex and her mysterious partner spoke, the voice came out with a resounding echo. The earth rumbled a bit. A large, pyramid-shaped temple came into vision. It gave off a dark feel, and its color scheme was themed invariably around black and red. There were no visible openings in the massive, dark, and perfect shape, but Alex walked in without a problem. The moment she walked in, the barrier reformed, concealing the large structure once again.

Within the vast, ominous-looking temple, there was a surprising amount of content. A vast library was in one section, and held books of every topic imaginable, yet most remained concealed to the world because of the magic barrier. Another was the living quarters of its one occupant, Alex. This was defined as the kitchen, bathing area, bedroom, bathroom, entertainment room, and all things related. Alex walked into a room that was dark, but with a wave of her hand, it came to life.

Magic symbols suddenly lit up all over the floors and walls, thus summoning a series of screens. Similar symbols either bordered the screens or were all over them, depending on what kind of screen that she was looking at. She levitated herself in mid-air, crossing her legs. Alex watched as clips from various cameras placed all Berlin played on her multitude of screens. Her eyes widened upon seeing Lady Saber blaze through the German city.

"Is that-"

"_There she is. That girl is the Pulse L'Cie!" _

"My God… She and that… thing… caused all of _that?!_"

"_I told you this already. Pulse L'Cie possess incredible destructive power, even if they have already completed their Focus and have awoken from crystal stasis." _

"I mean, thank God that it was just Red Skull and his army… but…"

"_There is no doubt that if she not only has that caliber of experience with her power but also possesses her Eidolon and fights in such a way… finding her will be no easy task." _

"But we can't let someone like her run wild."

"_Indeed. Lest the fate of some unfortunate human who was in the wrong place at the wrong time be wrought unintentionally by her hands…"_

"And we still have to be just as careful."

"_This is true, for there are those who would hunt us…"_

"Yea… I'd rather not dance with gods or men…"


	5. Chapter 4: Agents and Heroes

Chapter 4: Agents and Heroes

Another case was being closed for the B.A.U. team. In this case, it was a delusional man in Hell's Kitchen with multiple personalities who was unhealthily obsessed with Greek Mythology, and interpreted many people as the monsters from said mythos. One side was the killer, the other was a man who was just obsessed. It was a messy case, and the team was grateful it was over.

"Ready to head back home, Trouble?"

"Can it, Morgan! I'm not _that_ bad!"

"Well, you _did_ stab the UnSub right in the chest, Astrid!"

"You can't blame me, Emily! He was pinning me down and threatening me by pressing a _diamond-edged carbon fiber blade_ to my neck!" Astrid snapped. Though most of the team laughed, a strange beeping sound was soon heard. The team exchanged glances, and then it hit Astrid. She pulled out her wallet, and there was the source.

Her Avengers membership card was going off.

She rolled her eyes.

"Sorry, Hotch. Gotta go. I'm needed to save the world from God-knows-what this time." Astrid joked, glancing up at her boss.

"Just come back alive. This team still needs you." Hotch insisted.

"Not to mention that incurring the wrath of the Royal Family of Asgard probably isn't the best idea!" Emily added. Astrid smirked.

"I'll be back soon enough. Probably a bruise or two, but that's small stuff. Later!" She assured, running towards a window, and leaping out of it. She unsheathed her sword as she began to freefall.

"**Blade of Thunder, resound! Fury of Lightning, strike! Awaken your true power, my blessed blade, Sieglinde!" **

The old Norse rune chant caused a small series of runes engraved on the sword to glow, and in an instant, Astrid was shifted from her civilian clothes to her beautiful Asgardian armor. She surged through the sky, shooting upwards before getting high enough for a decent flight. She pulled out her card, and answered it.

"_Well, takes you long enough to answer the call, Thunder Princess!" _

She rolled her eyes.

"Well, you're going to have to forgive me, _Tony_, if I can't be at your beck and call every second of the damn day because, unlike you, I'm actually doing something _good_ with my life! I literally _just_ wrapped up a case with my team!" She snapped.

"_Oh for God's sake-thank you! Sorry about that, Special Agent Foster. Tony's… well…" _

"A hopeless drunken idiot with a lot of money and a suit of armor? I've known that for a while, Natasha. And please, just call me Astrid. We're friends, you know." Astrid joked. Natasha chuckled a bit.

"_Well, how fast can you get here?" _She asked.

"Lucky for you guys, the case was in New York. I'm on my way to the Tower as we speak. Should be there in a half, probably, depending on air traffic." Astrid replied.

"_See you soon. Black Widow out."_

Natasha ended the communication. Astrid quickly put away her card, and willed a powerful wind to come behind her and boost her speed. She soon arrived at Avengers Tower, landing on Stark's pedestal and rolling rather dramatically in. The winds and everything else died down, and the Special Agent sheathed her sword. She barely was inside before she was suddenly trapped in a crushing hug.

"Astrid, my beloved daughter! It is very good to see you faring so very well!"

"Good to see you too, Dad! Good to see you too..." She laughed, returning the hug and patting her father on the back.

"You know, Thor, you don't have to practically crush your daughter every time we call her to the Tower." Natasha pointed out.

"But she is not crushed, and she is my daughter! I love her, as she is my blood and my heir!" Thor said, turning around.

"Yea, Dad, but you have to remember that being an Avenger isn't the only thing I do. I have to be able to function _outside_ of this, you know!" Astrid said, internally sweatdropping. It was then that Thor finally released her. Nonetheless, the two smiled at each other. Steve cleared his throat, breaking the awkward moment.

"Okay, back to the original reason I called for everyone. Please, everyone, have a seat." Steve said. Everyone turned to face him, sitting in their respective seats in the Avengers meeting room.

"I called everyone here for two reasons. One is that we have two new members joining us today." He began.

"New comrades are always a pleasure! I cannot wait to meet them!" Thor beamed. Steve chuckled a bit.

"Okay… so, where are they?"

"We're right here, Wasp."

Everyone's heads turned sharply to the right. Two girls were standing there, clearly in superhero costumes… and almost instantly, most of the Avengers were confused.

"Hold up. Our new members are _teenagers?_" Wasp asked incredulously.

"Not just _any _teenagers! They're the protegés of Tasha and I!"

"Agent Romanoff took on a protegé? Is the apocalypse gonna come today?" Tony asked incredulously.

"Shut your mouth, Stark. They're just as capable in combat as Clint and I." Natasha snapped.

"Well, go ahead and introduce yourselves!" Wasp invited.

"Thanks. I'm Recurve, and this is my longtime best friend/adoptive sister, Black Shadow. You can probably take a guess who's working with who." Recurve introduced, motioning first to herself and then to Black Shadow.

"So… what can you two do?"

"Recurve is a skilled archer, and uses trick arrows. She constantly trains under Hawkeye. I am highly trained in various forms of combat, and I know how to use various spycraft. I train under Black Widow." Black Shadow summarized.

"They learn fast, I'll say. Not even two months in, and I was already teaching her how to use spycraft." Natasha added.

"That's cool! Right, Hank?" Wasp exclaimed, nudging Ant-Man.

"Uh, yea."

"We already know the rest of the team to a good degree, so let's focus on the mission." Black Shadow said, sitting down with her friend. On the other side was her mentor, making a protegé-mentor sandwich-thing that was just a bit awkward. Shrugging it off, Steve brought up the hologram with the mission. Already, Wasp, Recurve, and Lady Thunder were glaring at it incredulously.

"Wait-_that's_ our mission? A glowing blue cube?" Wasp asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You don't need a _profiler's_ help to track down a _god damn blue cube!_" Lady Thunder added, sitting back and folding her arms.

"I'm with Wasp and Lady Thunder. I mean, come on! What's the worst it's gonna do-spook a three-year-old?" Recurve asked further.

"No. The worst it could do is freeze over the entire realm of Midgard!" Thor growled. The three girls stared at Thor.

"What the actual hell?! How can it do _that?!_ It's a glowing _cube,_ for God's sake!" Lady Thunder demanded.

"It is not just a 'glowing cube', as you called it. It is the Casket of Ancient Winters. It was originally safehoused in Odin's Treasury…" Thor trailed.

"...But, somehow, it got stolen, and now, it's our problem. _Great._" Recurve droned.

"Precisely. This thing could mean trouble in all sorts of ways. According to what Thor's told us about it, not only is it super-powerful, but two whole other realms are threatening to declare _war_ on Asgard and Midgard if we don't find the stupid thing and get it back!" Hawkeye pointed out, waving his hand. Astrid shifted back, rolled her eyes, and moaned.

"Well, Goddamnit. This mission just went from 'come-home-with-a-few-bruises-maybe' to 'work-your-ass-off-or-else-all-creation-is-screwed'!" She droned to no one.

"So much for lettin' the good times roll…" Recurve added.


End file.
